Policyholder Account Balances - LDTI Rollforward (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2025	Mar. 31, 2024	Dec. 31, 2024
Policyholder Account Balance [Roll Forward]
Balance, beginning of period	$ 221,445
Balance, end of period	225,623
Group Life - Term | Group Benefits
Policyholder Account Balance [Roll Forward]
Balance, beginning of period	7,632	$ 7,692
Deposits	928	1,083
Policy charges	(167)	(163)
Surrenders and withdrawals	(787)	(906)
Benefit payments	(4)	(4)
Net transfers from (to) separate accounts	1	(3)
Interest credited	44	48
Balance, end of period	$ 7,647	$ 7,747
Weighted-average annual crediting rate	2.30%	2.50%
Cash surrender value	$ 7,582	$ 7,687
Group Life - Term | In the event of death | Group Benefits
Policyholder Account Balance [Roll Forward]
Net amount at risk	266,816	260,502
Capital Markets Investment Products and Stable Value GICs | RIS
Policyholder Account Balance [Roll Forward]
Balance, beginning of period	63,715	64,140
Deposits	22,694	18,073
Surrenders and withdrawals	(22,340)	(18,070)
Interest credited	601	573
Effect of foreign currency translation and other, net	477	(447)
Balance, end of period	$ 65,147	$ 64,269
Weighted-average annual crediting rate	3.80%	3.60%
Cash surrender value	$ 1,468	$ 1,992
Annuities and Risk Solutions | RIS
Policyholder Account Balance [Roll Forward]
Balance, beginning of period	20,699	17,711
Deposits	1,099	700
Policy charges	(47)	(15)
Surrenders and withdrawals	(139)	(58)
Benefit payments	(275)	(242)
Net transfers from (to) separate accounts	(2)	19
Interest credited	215	177
Other	18	(26)
Balance, end of period	$ 21,568	$ 18,266
Weighted-average annual crediting rate	4.10%	3.90%
Cash surrender value	$ 9,889	$ 8,043
Annuities and Risk Solutions | In the event of death | RIS
Policyholder Account Balance [Roll Forward]
Net amount at risk	44,587	42,677
Universal and Variable Universal Life | Asia
Policyholder Account Balance [Roll Forward]
Balance, beginning of period	50,801	49,739
Deposits	1,175	1,682
Policy charges	(231)	(282)
Surrenders and withdrawals	(698)	(826)
Benefit payments	(157)	(124)
Interest credited	369	382
Effect of foreign currency translation and other, net	704	(1,087)
Balance, end of period	$ 51,963	$ 49,484
Weighted-average annual crediting rate	2.90%	3.10%
Cash surrender value	$ 45,470	$ 42,842
Universal and Variable Universal Life | In the event of death | Asia
Policyholder Account Balance [Roll Forward]
Net amount at risk	86,430	90,786
Fixed Annuity | Asia
Policyholder Account Balance [Roll Forward]
Balance, beginning of period	38,421	36,863
Deposits	1,445	1,665
Policy charges	(1)	0
Surrenders and withdrawals	(470)	(740)
Benefit payments	(477)	(649)
Interest credited	289	248
Effect of foreign currency translation and other, net	94	(418)
Balance, end of period	$ 39,301	$ 36,969
Weighted-average annual crediting rate	3.00%	2.70%
Cash surrender value	$ 34,369	$ 32,072
Fixed Annuity | MetLife Holdings
Policyholder Account Balance [Roll Forward]
Balance, beginning of period	10,142	11,537
Deposits	45	38
Policy charges	(3)	(3)
Surrenders and withdrawals	(346)	(457)
Benefit payments	(97)	(108)
Net transfers from (to) separate accounts	41	27
Interest credited	78	91
Other	(1)	4
Balance, end of period	$ 9,859	$ 11,129
Weighted-average annual crediting rate	3.20%	3.30%
Cash surrender value	$ 9,289	$ 10,507
Fixed Annuity | In the event of death | Asia
Policyholder Account Balance [Roll Forward]
Net amount at risk	1	3
Fixed Annuity | In the event of death | MetLife Holdings
Policyholder Account Balance [Roll Forward]
Net amount at risk	2,659	2,486
Fixed Annuity | At annuitization or exercise of other living benefits | MetLife Holdings
Policyholder Account Balance [Roll Forward]
Net amount at risk	793	614
Variable Annuity | EMEA
Policyholder Account Balance [Roll Forward]
Balance, beginning of period	2,337	2,720
Deposits	1	1
Policy charges	(13)	(15)
Surrenders and withdrawals	(59)	(73)
Benefit payments	(30)	(31)
Interest credited	(3)	54
Effect of foreign currency translation and other, net	72	(25)
Balance, end of period	$ 2,305	$ 2,631
Weighted-average annual crediting rate	(0.50%)	8.40%
Cash surrender value	$ 2,305	$ 2,631
Variable Annuity | In the event of death | EMEA
Policyholder Account Balance [Roll Forward]
Net amount at risk	437	422
Variable Annuity | At annuitization or exercise of other living benefits | EMEA
Policyholder Account Balance [Roll Forward]
Net amount at risk	556	541
Life and Other | MetLife Holdings
Policyholder Account Balance [Roll Forward]
Balance, beginning of period	11,132	11,641
Deposits	193	206
Policy charges	(170)	(174)
Surrenders and withdrawals	(240)	(265)
Benefit payments	(45)	(39)
Net transfers from (to) separate accounts	14	11
Interest credited	99	106
Other	3	0
Balance, end of period	$ 10,986	$ 11,486
Weighted-average annual crediting rate	3.70%	3.70%
Cash surrender value	$ 10,436	$ 11,038
Net amount at risk percentage after taking reinsurance into consideration	98.00%		99.00%
Life and Other | In the event of death | MetLife Holdings
Policyholder Account Balance [Roll Forward]
Net amount at risk	$ 63,491	$ 66,684